#and i've been saving for furina...

[daisukekambehateaccount]

the fuck man they made kabru in genshin of course i want him

[dawnbirdwhistle]

I'm so ready for 🃏Arlecchino🍷 (Genshin Impact)

She better comes home when it is time because this took me so long to make xd

Note to self:  mirrors are scary, hands are scary, mirrored hands are HELL (so i hope it was worth it)

Anyways as per usual I will go feral over her here bc no irl friends on tumblr hopefully 👀 oh what a great day it is to love women AH

[nightmareonpeachstreet]

okay the bad news is I'm gay and weak

but the good news: I won my Shorekeeper 50/50

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Politely affectionately agressively begging for more Furina fics you write her AMAZINGLYYYYY PLEASEEE and it's so rare to see my girl get any fics YOU A REAL ONE FR FR ���😫😫😫😫😫😫😫😫😫😫😫😫😫😫

(Genshin Impact) Furina watching an emotional movie with her S/O

*Imperial Guardsmen Voice* IF SUCH IS THE EMPEROR'S WILL! Also, you can imagine this as an Isekai S/O or Fontaine somehow developed movies, idk you can work the imagination on how movies exist in Tevyat, I'm just here to give you the funny/cute.

Furina's lips trill in boredom as she sits down on the couch, an hand underneath her chin.

Dinner had already been finished, dessert promptly followed but the night was still young.

Her S/O was in front of the couch, rustling coming from a box they were searching through.

She got up from her seat and knelt next to them, curious as to what they were looking for.

(Furina) "S/O?"

(S/O) "Hang on, just looking for something we can watch...ah!"

S/O pulled out a box containing a small CD. Furina couldn't help but flinch instinctually.

(S/O) "Before you ask, no it's not a horror movie."

With a sigh of relief, she grabbed the box and raised an eyebrow.

(Furina) "Oh thank goodness!...A-Ahem, so, what is this?"

(S/O) "It's from Inazuma. It's a super cheesy story about a man and female meka falling in love."

They put a finger to their chin as Furina scoffed as she crossed her arms.

(Furina) "Oh please, I've seen far worse premises in my stage plays, S/O!"

(S/O) "True, but this one might make you cry."

Furina's smirk grows bigger hearing their lack of faith.

(Furina) "Psh! Me? Cry at a love story probably told a thousand times? Please! Put it on S/O! I'll prove you otherwise!"

ONE HOUR LATER...

S/O and Furina were sitting quietly, nearing the end of the film's duration.

The man's head was resting on the meka's lap as he was nearing the end of his life, though the mood was very bittersweet.

With a beautiful piano tune playing in the background, the Meka looked up to the sky, finally getting a revelation for the human it fell in love with.

[Mekaigis] "Not everything needs to be for some greater purpose. Just caring for someone can be enough. That's all we need to give our lives meaning. As for me, I've found my path. And that's to protect you with my life..."

S/O's heart strings tugged at the touching dialogue. Blinking away a few tears, S/O turned to Furina.

(S/O) Furina's been really quiet. I wonder if she's not as affected as-

S/O's thoughts were interrupted the moment they actually glanced at their girlfriend.

Furina reached for her box of tissues, which was already halfway gone, and blew violently into it.

She proceeded to wipe away her tears with her hands while her lips trembled, eyes locked onto the screen the entire time.

(S/O) ...Okay yeah, she's doing as good as I thought she would.

S/O moved in closer to hold her hand and at least give her some comfort for this admittedly tear-inducing scene.

Only for their hand to be almost hurt from her grip strength as she held on with all of her passion, Furina's attention daring not to even turn away.

S/O almost yelped out in pain, but kept strong for the sake of their girlfriend's immersion.

And with the man finally closing his eyes, the movie finally came to a close, with the music's lyrics riding the scene out.

[Movie] "kaze no koe hikari no tsubu madoromu kimi ni sosogu-"

Furina stood up from her chair, pointing to the screen with tears still fresh in her eyes.

(Furina) "T-THE MOVIE ENDS RIGHT THERE?! BUT THAT'S NOT FAIR! HE AND MEKAIGIS FOUGHT TO SAVE THE WORLD, THEY SHOULD BE HAPPY TOGETHER!"

S/O couldn't contain their soft laughter, getting up and attempting to calm her down by gently wiping her tears away.

(S/O) "I agree, but it's a rather beautiful ending to such a tragic story. But what did you think of it?"

Furina pouted at their laughter, crossing her arms and huffing.

(Furina) "I'd rather have watched a horror movie, something like that is way too sad!"

(S/O) "I thought you said you wouldn't cry-"

(Furina) "I-I was simply crying at their performances! They did an amazing job acting out a horrid script, as a performer I couldn't just ignore their handiwork!"

S/O playfully rolled their eyes as they sat Furina back down, quickly joining her on the couch.

(S/O) "Is that right? Anyways, there's a followup sequel where it follows Mekaigis after the events of this movie called the Answ-"

(Furina) "PUT IT ON RIGHT NOW! I HAVE TO FIND OUT RIGHT NOW!"

Her voice cracked as she pointed at the screen, making S/O laugh and comply.

(S/O) "Yes, ma'am."

Furina's leg bounced anxiously as she watched S/O painfully put the next film in slowly, getting immersed again immediately.

===

Author's note:

This isn't actually anything related to the post besides the obvious reference, I just have to get it out of my system because I was listening to the soundtrack of said reference. Ahem. AAALLLL THE JOURNEYS START SOMEWHERE WITH A FIRST STEEEEEEEP NO ONE'S SURE WHAT LIES AHEAD BE BOLD AND BRAAAAAAAAAAAAVE (STAND UP!) ROADS MAY BEEEEEE ROUGH AND TOOUUUUUUGH THOUGH IT WILL LEAD SOMEWHEEEERE (NOTHING EASY GET UP AND GO GET IT GO) SOMETIMES IT'S JOURNEY ITSELF THAT TEACHEEEES A LOT ABOUT THE DESTINATION NOT AWARE OOOOOF NO MATTER HOW FAAAAAR (NO MATTER HOW FAR) HOW YOU GOOOOOOOO (HOW YOU GO HOW YOU GO) HOW LONG IT MAY LAAAAAST (CARPE DIEM NO TIME TO WASTE) VENTURE LIFE, BURN YOUR DREEEAAAAD! (YOU GOTTA VENTURE LIFE GO GET IT BURN YOUR DREAD)

[themissinghand]

Genshin Impact: The Overworked God [2]

Part 1

Summary: In which one of the lore writers who help write the world of Genshin Impact was suddenly thrusted in the very world they created. 

Well, testing characters is one thing, but playing God, and raising 7 children at a time? 

Oh boy. He just wants to go home and sleep.

Note: Finally back from break!

Part 2 of the Overworked God! Creator! Male OC!

What if we had a smarter Creator that never forgot his initial wish of going home?

Warning: Genshin and SAGAU themes, some OOC and angst.

★・・・・・・★

Tempus, or Kai has been in the world of Genshin Impact for a very long time, since its creation where it was just him and Celestia. 

He struck a deal with Celestia, promising to be the Creator and consequently the God of Time to help create Teyvat, but on his own terms. Doing what he can to save his creations from unnecessary pain and suffering. 

So, he’s still overworked, stressed and sleepy all the time, especially now that he has to take care of 7 children too.  

But finally…today is the day he could finally go home. 

Home sounds foreign to him, after all, he spent more years in Teyvat than on Earth, but he has never given up on returning after fulfilling his duty as the Creator. 

It’s going to be a difficult announcement to make, considering how attached his children could be, but perhaps, he could twist the narrative just a bit to appease them.

“Tempus!” Speaking of, two bundles of mass hopped towards him as usual, and he caught them with both arms as if it was a routine. He stumbles a bit, sighs, but pats them on the head. 

“It’s been so long since you visited Monstadt! I missed you~” Venti hugged his waist as he peaked up with puppy eyes. Before Kai could respond, Furina beat him to it. 

“It’s because he likes Fontaine better! He’s been in my country the longest!” Furina quipped back with a proud expression on her face. 

“That’s because you suck at ruling your country!” 

“Says you, Mr. Drunkard Bard!” 

At least they both have trustworthy people like Neuvillette and Jean to take care of their country…

“That’s enough, you two.” A spark of lightning scared the two to cling onto Tempus even more, but Ei easily picked the two off. 

Ah, one of the more responsible leaders…

“Please ignore these two, Tempus.” Ei says stoically, as she sends a deadly glare that shuts the two up. 

“It’s fine.” Tempus greets every single Archon with a nod, before taking a seat at the head of the table, his expression showing his tiredness despite the light-hearted banter that usually happens during these meetings.

“Have a seat everyone.” All the Archons did a curt bow before taking their respective seats. 

Materializing snacks resembling that of an English afternoon teatime, he smiled when even the stoic Tsaritsa seemed to enjoy his food. 

It’s a shame though, this will be his last time. 

“Tempus.” He turned to the Tsaritsa, who seemed to notice his distress.

“I’m fine.” He brushed it away, before he felt a cold hand on his. 

“Let us know if anything is bothering you.” Zhongli added on, and Tempus shook his head. 

His children could handle Teyvat without him, what else would he be worried about? 

“Tempus, are your worries the reason why did you call us all today?” Sharp as always, Nahida asks, gaining everyone’s attention all at once. 

In the end…Rukkhadevata chose her fate. There are things that could not be changed…

“Yes.” Feeling everyone’s eyes on him, he felt even more estranged. 

"As you know, I've overseen Teyvat, guided you all, and tried to make amends for the mistakes of the past," Tempus continued. 

“After much thought, I believe it’s time for me to rest.” 

Multiple teacups fell onto the table with a loud thud. With a wave of his hand, the spilled tea disappeared. 

“T-Tempus! What, what do you mean?” Murata stood up abruptly, knocking over a flower vase, which Tempus easily dissolved to nothing. 

“Tempus, how could you abandon us!” 

“Calm down.” But it seems to have no effect, instead, he felt the cold hand squeeze his own, sending a shiver down his spine. 

“Tempus, you belong to us.”

“As I’ve said, I will be going into deep slumber-” Suddenly, many eyes shot towards the Bard who looked very pale. 

“-to take a break.” A teacup shattered, but Tempus paid no mind to it. 

“My decision is final, and I hope you can take care of Teyvat while I rest.” For eternity. 

“Tempus.” Scoring golden eyes burned into Kai’s soul, and he forced himself to remain neutral as he stared at Zhongli-Morax. 

“Please stay. I’m begging you, please, Your Eminence. Please don’t leave us.” 

"But what of Teyvat? You've become integral to the stability and well-being of this world, and us." There were many nods that followed. 

“We need you.”

There was desperation in his voice, and while it did hurt Tempus to leave them, he doubted he could stay any longer knowing that he could finally leave. 

“All of you are strong and are capable enough to rule your countries, which I am very proud of. Teyvat will be in good hands." Some Archons smiled briefly, but it was short lived. 

"Which is why it's time for me to step aside and take a break."

They had grown accustomed to Tempus's guidance, his wisdom, and his tireless efforts to steer them towards a better path, so for them to lose his support is like fighting without a weapon. 

“W-Where, will you be resting? In Temporium?” Furina’s shaky voice filled the silent room. 

“Stay here, the Fortress of Meropide will keep you safe. Fontaine and I will keep you safe.”

“Yes.” 

“For how long?” Venti asked, anxiety in his voice. 

“I’ll find you, I’ll find you no matter where you run.” 

“I do not know, for as long as my body needs.” Their faces became pale at thinking of the possibility of not seeing Tempus again. 

With a sigh, he stood up, making others rush to stand too. 

“Come here, each one of you.” In an instant, they rushed over and Tempus pulled them one by one into a hug. While he made himself tall and muscular, he felt small in the group hug that lasted an incredibly long time. 

He felt arms around his waist, chest, arms and back, being hugged by 7 people at once was somewhat suffocating. 

“You all will do great. I will miss you all.” This was not a lie. 

“Time flows like water, and perhaps I will wake sooner than you all expect.” This was a lie. 

Tempus heard sniffles, and felt hands grabbing his robes and weaving through his long hair. 

“Tempus…do you have to leave us?” Nahida asked, tugging his heart strings as he saw such a wise person tear up. 

Did she read my thoughts? 

Tempus got rid of that idea as he forbade her from doing so, and with his current power alongside Celestia’s authority, she should be blocked from doing such a thing. 

“I am not leaving, Nahida. I am merely resting.” 

Finally, with some coaxing, he managed to peel them off one by one. 

“I leave Teyvat in your hands.” 

With that, Tempus bid farewell to the Archons and quickly prepared to depart from Celestia. The longer he stayed, the more unbearable this would become. 

However, once he left, the atmosphere shifted once more. The Archons, loyal to their Creator beyond measure, exchanged anxious glances, and a heavy silence settled over the chamber.

“Tempus lied.” Nahida said, as tears rolled down her cheeks. 

“Nahida?” All of the Archons felt their heart drop at her words. 

“He may be resting in Temporium, but there’s more to it. I can’t read his mind completely, but…he’s going to leave us if we let him go.” 

“What are we waiting for then?” Suddenly, the atmosphere turned cold. The Tsaritsa stepped forward with her Ice scepter, Permafrost. Like many other Archon’s weapons, they were gifted to them by the Creator himself.

“If Buer’s words are true, then while his body remains in Temporium, his soul is elsewhere.” 

The Archons soon came to a consensus. 

“We cannot let him go into slumber.” 

Or they will lose him completely.

[Are you ready, dear Creator?] 

Tempus laid in his resting chamber on the edges of Temporium, in a makeshift mountain. He created this place in secret, so no one else by him knows. 

He felt bad for his kingdom, as he told the royal family that he will be gone doing his Godly duties for a long time, but never informed how long. 

Regardless, they should be able to live without a god, considering the technology and time Tempus gave them. 

[Yes]

As he lay in his comfortable bed with minimal decorations or other items, he shut his eyes and reminisced about the past. 

Although it was a very long time, he was never really alone. 

But he has seen much more than a normal human on Earth, from war to life and death, to the repetitions of stories by going back in time many times to fix his mistakes. 

“Stop him! He’s going back in time!” 

Truly, it takes a mental toll on his mind. He can’t let his emotions take over, otherwise, he would have to redo everything again. 

[Thank you for your work, dear Creator]

[Just make sure you fulfill your side of the deal]

[Of course]

When he shut his eyes, he felt safe, comfortable and oddly relieved, relieved of his duties at last. 

“Tempus!”  

His eyes snapped open and saw his chamber shake with vigor. All of his protective mechanisms activate, indeed, he prepared for this.

“Tempus!” 

Voices slowly became louder and the earth seemed to roar. 

How did they find him? Was it Buer? It must've been.

“Tempus!” 

There was desperation in their voices, and Kai assumed that they seemed to have figured something out. 

Perhaps honesty was better, but in the end, this was always the outcome. 

Yes, Tempus already knew that no matter what he did, the Archons would rebel, would seek him out.

Even if the walls seem to crumble, it did not affect Kai’s chamber, after all, it was sealed and protected with his powers.

But perhaps with a bit more persistence, they would soon destroy the mountain all together, leaving him and his chamber exposed. But, Tempus was not worried, after all, he had prepared for this moment too long ago. 

[Farewell, dear Creator] 

Suddenly, he felt a bright light engulf him as he felt incredibly sleepy. 

Through his blurred vision, he could see the stormy skies, and all seven Archons rushing towards him. 

“Tempus!” 

“You can’t leave us, Tempus!” 

Seeing them in their prime, in their Archon outfits was a little nostalgic. 

Hearing a crack in his chamber’s shield was somewhat surprising, but also, incredible. His children have grown up well. 

[Farewell]

With a fleeting smile, Tempus bids farewell to his second home. 

“Tempus!” 

His eyes close, just as the light takes him whole. 

“Tempus!” 

Morax and Murata pierced through the tough protective layers desperately, and Ei and Venti whiz past them to reach their Creator. 

But, they were too late. 

“No, Tempus is…he’s-” Barbados was crying as he held Tempus’s hand. 

“Kai! Kai!” Furina bawled her eyes out, calling his real name repeatedly as if it would bring him back. 

But he won’t come back. 

Bal held his body as she froze in shock (in regret), as if she was reminded of her past. 

“Tempus, you’re cruel.” Buer, the one who got them so far and so close but not enough. She knelt down beside him and cried while pressing his hand into her face. 

“You’ve left us with death, not slumber. You lied, you lied!” 

It was like they lost a part of themselves. 

After all, Tempus was there whenever they needed guidance, he sacrificed his own personal time to make sure they were alright. 

“K-Kai…” Morax stumbled towards the still body that used to be his friend, mentor, benefactor, love, and everything. 

Even in death, he was still so beautiful, kind and holy. 

Tempus was their everything. 

The Tsaritsa dragged herself towards Tempus with her scepter. She was known to not show her emotions, even when Tempus encouraged her to do so to stay emotionally healthy. He was the only one that saw her vulnerable side, and knew who she really was, and never judged her for it. 

“Tempus. How dare you…abandon us like this?” She stood by Tempus’s feet and her eyes did not leave his body at all. 

While others wept, her tears were turned into weapons. 

Murata stood by her with the same dark, solemn expression. 

It’s not fair. 

How could he treat them like his everything, and then leave them so abruptly? 

If only he could open his eyes again and say it was nothing but a terrible joke. 

But Tempus is gone, leaving his lifeless body as his final memory and gift. 

[anemoi-i]

There are many Venti fans that believe he will receive a second part to his story quest when Dornman Port releases and while I understand that, plus understand the need for him to have a second story quest, I believe it does a great disservice to him when there is already content in the game, with specifically Mondstadt, that has not been expanded on in any way, shape or form that could have already been used as potential grounds for a second story quest.

Another argument is that Venti is only "end game content" as in he will only be relevant when the Traveler reaches Khaenri'ah to learn the truth about what happened during the Cataclysm, and yes, that could be the case but it would be detrimental if hoyo was to wait that long not only for him, but for the other Archons as well.

You'll remember that the game is pushing the narrative to us, the players, that the Archons are directly responsible for the Cataclysm and are only showing us Khaenri'ah's side of the story. There's even a red herring that the Traveler seeks to ask specifically Venti and Zhongli about the fall of Khaenri'ah while in the same breath, talks about the battles the Archon faced to defend their nations and the wounds that still linger 500 years later, but no Archon directly tells the Traveler their side of the story, the Traveler has not went back to previous nations to ask, which leads to so many unanswered questions.

I'd like to go back first and explain why I do not think Venti's second story quest will release with Dornman Port (and if it does, it'll be a miracle and I'll come back to this) and it is because it seems too trivial to release an important part of an Archon's story with a small area, especially a port. That, and the current trend with Archons' story quests (save Furina) is that they have a boss, and vital pieces of information are found out before that boss is fought. There's the argument that Andrius and Dvalin are the two bosses already (Andrius was the "second world boss for Mondstadt" already) and it's unlikely that there would be a third Mondstadt boss, but why would that be? Mondstadt is the first nation we visit. Perhaps later trends in how story quests and it's related bosses work came after.

Don't get me wrong, I would love a Mondstadt expansion, but I doubt a Dornman Port release would answer all of the many other plotpoints unexplored as well as other questions that remain unsolved. I'm sure we'd get a nice World Quest, as these new World Quests are very good, or subtle lore drops like the random release of Perinheri, but that's about it and after that we would all be left disappointed.

I've already went over potential plotpoints that would be far better, such as why Durin's heart still beats at Dragonspine, why the Abyss Order was/is mostly active at Mondstadt, the presence of Istaroth, why hoyo is literally doing nothing with Albedo (to be fair, a lore drop for Albedo could just be behind a second story quest for him which he deserves), and Grand Master Varka's expedition, plus so, so much more including the Mare Jivari (which is what I speculate will be important when Natlan releases) and even Old Mondstadt. All of which could have been already explored in a second story quest for Venti, but we're left having to speculate when it will release.

[priestessoffurina]

Thoughts on Focalors & Furina

Part of me feels conflicted with the fate of Focalors/Furina.

On one hand, it kinda sucks that the hydro archon didn't "fully" die. A cop-out you know? I would have loved the whole spectacle of an archon dying, although I guess we did get that in end...it was less drama and more sad tho.

But then again I'm not like completely surprised it went this way.

I've accepted that if a character is gonna be playable, that means they won't die. I know there are still people who believe that since Hoyo has done it with their other games, it will happen with Genshin. But we're over half way through the Teyvail Chapter now and no playable death in sight. So the chances of that happening are slim (at least until the very end or something)

But on the other, I'm super glad Furina gets to live. She suffered so much (Focalors as well) in protecting Fontaine. Keeping up the act until curtain's call. And if she were to die after everything she has been through, it would be a sad ending. Also Neuvillette would probably flood Fontaine.

This having it both ways could also be a way of going against The Heavenly Principles. Having it both ways.

Nicole said;

"the gods" meaning The Heavenly Principles. They aren't as all and mightly as they claim. And even if you can't change fate you could change how it means; the destination is the same the but path travelled is different.

Focalors devised a plan to not only save all of Fontaine from the flood but also rid of the sin from the first archon as well as give the Sovereign his birthright back. All the while making sure that Furina could in the end, live too.

And in the end Furina deserves this ending. She is the embodiment of Focalor's wish; to live out life as a human, pursuing her own happiness.

[yestrday]

do u have crumbs of any of your au's to spare? 🤲 it could be au lore, character lore, little random tidbits of info - any teeny weeny little crumb. I am on my deathbed and having yester withdrawal symptoms and the only thing that can save me is your au fanservice blurbs

well! not lore drops but i have been thinking of starting another au which is witch! genshins and their specialized fields. i love funky magic yanderes. i've also thought of a fun character for the mc, who is just absolutely dead and numb to magic that the yandere could be pouring a whole love potion in their cup in front of them that they'll just sit and stare blankly. idk, i'll probably work on it after i finish up my other aus.

anyways! here's some lore drops for the academy au bc i miss those homicidal students!:

most of zhongli's former batchmates (ningguang, beidou, lisa, jean, etc) are quite amused that he used to be the student council president and at how much he's changed. he used to be a big, gruff delinquent, after all. ningguang, in particular, likes to tease him about it whenever they meet.

third year fem students are: candace, dehya, eula, keqing, ganyu, kujou sara, navia, rosaria, faruzan

2nd year students: amber, ayaka, charlotte, hutao. kirara, kokomi, layla, lynette, nilou, sucrose, shenhe, yoimiya, yunjin, yanfei

1st year students: barbara, noelle, xiangling, xinyan, fischl, collei, furina

graduates (zhongli's batch): beidou, jean, ningguang, lisa, nahida (💀), yae miko, yelan, raiden miko and ei.

although venti's the same age as zhongli, he entered school a year later.

neuvillette is the same batch as zhongli and has graduated! the two have a very tense relationship.

the current student council president is keqing. ganyu is the secretary-general. other student council members are: aether (first year representative), navia (second years representative), there is no representative for third years because childe started dissing venti onine and zhongli declined the nomination.

furina's age is around the third years' age but because of her acting career had to stop her education for two years.

the people currently competing for valedictorian is zhongli, keqing, and faruzan. kaveh was once in the running but his grades began to drop halfway through the year. baizhu could be in the running if it wasn't for his abysmal pe grades.

nahida was last years' valedictorian. and no, she has not skipped any grades.

[aha-chuu]

I've seen some discourse about Fontaine Act V, specifically some posts discussing misogynistic characterisations and other such things, so I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and air out my thoughts.

Firstly: most of the game up until 4.0 had sexism rooted deeply within the writing. You can look to the actual character designs to see the mistreatment of the female characters most plainly, but it's a gacha game selling waifus - whatever, that's not pertinent. More pressing is the actual writing of the female characters; despite there being several more women than men, the male characters on a whole seem to get more screen time, story presence and deliver more narrative weight than their female counterparts.

Who are the characters who seem like they'll be relevant throughout the game? Which characters are awarded a greater diversity of personalities?

There have always been well-written female characters in the game, but so many are not given ample screen time to explore that. Even more get given interesting backstories with no personality to follow through on the obscure lore.

Even in Inazuma where the quest is dominated by feminine presence, it's Kazuha who has the most voice lines throughout the game out of the Inazuma cast, Ayato (who didn't even appear!) who gets retroactively awarded the title of mastermind. The writing in Inazuma does just suck in general, but still nobody thinks of Yae in the same way they consider Albedo, Scaramouche, Neuvillette. You can make ten million arguments for why Ayaka's demure disposition is relevant to her strength as a character in non-combative ways, but the game's narrative does not capitalise on that, leaving her to feel very samey to characters we've had before.

The point being: the argument for Fontaine being a misogynistic hell hole does have a backbone in how Hoyo has previously dealt with their characters. However, in my opinion, this is yet another case of "trying and falling short is a worst crime than making no attempt at all".

Fontaine has a huge diversity of women characters who all feel distinct. You could read an unmarked line of dialogue by Lynette, Navia, Charlotte, Arlecchino, Clorinde, Sigewinne, Skirk, Furina or Foçalors and you could pretty accurately distinguish who has said it. Now, a lot of these characters are written to be victims - Lynette being child trafficked, Navia having her whole family die around her, Arlecchino an abused orphan, Foçalors doomed to die and Furina is cursed. But in no way does this diminish their individual strengths or leave them without agency.

There's a misconception that a "strong female character" has to be, basically, an 80s male action hero but with boobs this time. If she is feminine then it better be in service of her badassery. In reality, the mark of a well-written female character is her agency in the story to change it - agency here is important, because throughout fiction female characters have often shaped entire stories... By being doormats that you could replace with a sword the hero really wants.

So in terms of Fontaine, how do these characters stack up? Not just in terms of their diversity of personality and depth of story, but also their power and relevance in the Archon quest itself?

Furina is presented as being trapped in suffering, but the reality of the situation is that she has the option to give up at any time. You cannot replace Furina with a cool treasure that the Traveller really wants; she makes active decisions in service of the plot constantly, in spite of her torture and fear and weakness. That weakness is never portrayed as some huge flaw that we the player must fix, it's in fact evidence of how strong Furina has been for centuries.

Navia too - though (by virtue of what the story is about) she has less to do, Navia thrusts herself into the quest in our defence, rallies our team and, yeah, needs saving along the way! Just like Freminet in the primordial seawater in Act IV or Lyney on trial in Act I.

Arlecchino maintains many feminine traits while also twisting them on their head. She is the "Father" of the House of the Hearth - obviously gendered - but she is most defined by her maternal love (feminine). She is never placed into a position of weakness in the Archon quest, always in control and saving others.

I think looking at Neuvillette's ascension to the position of leadership in Fontaine and labelling the whole ordeal "misogynistic" is insanely reductive. If every nation were ruled by a man despite 5/7 "archons" being women, sure. But Mondstadt is presently led by Jean, Liyue by Ningguang, Inazuma by Raiden (& Yae?) and Sumeru by Nahida. If the problem people have is instead that in this process Furina becomes more meek and emotional, then I point again to the wide variety of personalities the female characters in Fontaine display. If every woman is meek and emotional that's a problem, but those are literally only adjectives you would use for Furina (who is severely traumatised). Navia would be resolute and kind-hearted, Clorinde reserved and courageous, Charlotte curious and assertive - the list goes on.

And to pretend like Neuvillette doesn't bow down in many instances to the whims of other characters is a frustrating take. Yes he gets a cool cutscene of fixing all the problems of the prophecy, but that's only surface level; he did that after Foçalors explained that it was all her plan and her sacrifice. He takes Skirk's advice to give Arlecchino the gnosis. Even back in Act II, Neuvillette admits his own weakness of understanding to Navia - in that moment she is grieving and upset, but the narrative never treats her as unreasonable for her feelings. In fact, Neuvillette (who is supposed to seem wise and level-headed) admits his own wrongs and apologises to her!

Anyway. Please try to look at Fontaine with a bit more nuance.

[teaberrii]

Chapter 14: Time's Ticking

You and Dan Heng are a match made in heaven until fate takes him away from you too soon. Years later, you think you moved on with a mutual friend who shared your grief and stuck with you during tough times until you meet a mysterious man with a striking resemblance to your past lover and a hidden motive. You’re determined to get rid of him, but how are you going to get rid of a god?

Dan Feng/You

Notes:

Cross-posted on Ao3

Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail crossover

Female reader

Chapter index at the end of chapter one

Support my writing

It’s been a few days since the strange text, and you aren’t sure whether to be relieved or nervous that’s all you received. Normally, you’d pass this off as a joke or an accidental text, but considering the circumstances, you just can’t. You’ve tried everything: texting back, tracing it, and alerting the police. But all you discover is that the number no longer exists, which makes you wonder if this is the work of magic.

Is it from Lan? Nanook? You doubt it. Why bother with a text when you've already met Lan? So, a sick prank from Childe, maybe? Or, is it the mystery man behind Lan and Nanook? The questions drive you crazy, and you wonder if this is the motive behind this ridiculous text. Once you've exhausted your options in figuring out this mysterious number, Dan Feng suggested something that caught everyone's attention at Bailu's apartment yesterday night.

"If Furina exists, it's safe to say that The Great Purge failed," Dan Feng said. "She wouldn't have managed to live this long."

Bailu sighed. "You know... I've been thinking. The mystery person behind Lan and Nanook's escape. What are they, exactly? A god? Someone like Furina?"

"Whoever they are, they knew about the teleporter," Neuvilette said. "That much is for sure."

"I think it's safe to say that they're behind this psychological game," Dan Feng said, nodding to your phone. "They're using magic, which means they found a way to wield it."

"But, couldn't they be like us?" Bailu mused. "They keep using magic until their power is completely gone?"

"Then, they should know how valuable it is to save their magic. Why would they use it on this?" Zhongli asked. "If we are assuming that Lan and Nanook are supposed to be doing the dirty work."

Neuvilette exhaled softly. "Perhaps they are like Furina. However, that wouldn't make sense either as we haven't seen her wield magic. She may have wrote The Book of Curses and lived for an abnormally long time, but that's about it."

You lean back on the couch. "Here's another thought. Who's to say other people didn't know about The Great Purge before it happened?"

Dan Feng briefly closed his eyes and nodded. “True.”

After a short silence, Neuvilette said:

“I suppose the question is... What caused The Great Purge to fail?"

"That's a loaded question," Bailu said. "Like... Where are we going to start?"

“Perhaps the place where we performed the ritual,” Dan Feng said. “The place where The Great Purge first started.” A pause. “My old home.”

You’re working at the office today while Dan Feng takes a little adventure back to the palace. Despite looking at your laptop screen, your attention is on your phone, hoping you’ll get an update in the group chat you share with the dragon gang.

A co-worker taps your desk, and you immediately look up. "He wants to see you now."

You got the message this morning that the team is getting a new temporary leader who’ll be supervising the group and the project’s progress. You don’t know much except that it’s a man, and he wants to meet the group members individually when he arrives later in the day.

You head upstairs, walking past busy-looking employees until reaching the quiet corridor. You aren’t sure why, but the closer you get to his office, you feel uneasy.

You knock once, and immediately a voice says:

“Come in.” You open the door and see a man with long dark blue hair with red tips and red eyes. He gestures for you to take the empty seat in front of him. “Take a seat.” So, you do, and he introduces himself as Yingxing.

“I… think we’ve met before,” you say, a little skeptically.

You’re trying to remember why he looks familiar when he says:

“Has Dan Feng mentioned me?” Your heart almost drops to your stomach. Dan Feng? How does he know about Dan Feng? He picks up on your confusion and slightly smiles. “Some people know me as Blade.”

Should you feign ignorance?

“Interesting name,” you finally say. “Why the alias?”

“Yingxing is a more fitting name for this generation, but you can call me whatever you feel most comfortable with.” His elbow is on the armrest, and you don't like the look in his eyes. It's as if he's studying you. "Dan Feng is looking for the Aeons, is he not?" He slightly leans closer. “Or, is he looking for you?”

Unfazed, you give him a deadpan look.

“I’m getting tired of explaining that I’m not someone from the past. How do you know about me?”

“I know he's secretly looking for the woman who betrayed him. He’s never admitted it, but I know he wants answers. And... you say you're not someone from the past, but it's telling me otherwise."

You narrow your eyes. "What's telling you otherwise?"

“I am not supposed to exist,” Blade says sternly. “When The Great Purge happened, it was supposed to rid magic from the world. But something went wrong.” A slight pause. “I would think you know about The Great Purge.”

“I do. I also know that you were the one who told Furina to write The Book of Curses." You cross your arms. "If anything went wrong, I would suspect you had something to do with it.”

“A bold accusation, but I suppose it’s logical.” You almost roll your eyes. “But it wasn’t me. I never wanted immortality.”

"...So, you're like Furina. You never died? You just continued to exist?"

Blade almost chuckles. "Ah, so you know that much already." Then, his expression turns stoic. "Immortality is possible if you know the right people." Right people…? “There’s only so much you can accomplish without external resources.”

“What do you want?” you ask. “You say you’re here because someone granted you immortality. Do you think it’s Dan Feng? Is that why you're asking about him?”

“I’d like some answers.”

“How are you so sure he’s the one responsible?”

“You sure have a lot of trust in him. I don’t know whether to call you courageous or foolish. If you are the reincarnation of the woman he hates… he’ll kill you.”

“I’m not,” you say bitterly. “So, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“So you say.” Blade leans back, and his eyes land on your necklace. “Who gave that to you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You asked me earlier what's telling me you're someone from the past." He points to your necklace with his pen. "There's your answer."

◆◆◆

Pierro is working in his office when he gets a call. He reaches for the phone and hears his receptionist’s voice on the other end.

“You have a visitor.”

“I’m not expecting anyone today,” Pierro says. “Whoever it is can wait.”

“Are you sure, Sir? Tsaritsa is here to see you, and…” Pierro hears some muffled conversation. “She won’t take no for an answer.”

Pierro shuts off his monitor screen. “All right.”

It’s not like he has a choice.

Tsaritsa arrives shortly after in her familiar dark blue dress. Her hair, tucked behind her ears, is pulled back into a fancy braid, and her makeup is uncharacteristically bold with a dark red lip and gold smokey eyeshadow.

“I thought the event would keep you until late,” Pierro says, gesturing for her to sit on the sofa. He stands and walks to a long table near the large window. “Coffee? Tea?”

“I finished reading the diary,” Tsaritsa says. Pierro, who’s pouring himself coffee, stops halfway and puts the decanter back in its place. “And I want to know more about the woman your ancestor mentioned… Idrila.”

Pierro turns around with his cup. “That impatient, huh? It can’t wait until later?” When she says nothing, he finds her silence a little suspicious. He turns around, pours her a coffee, and says, “Well, I don’t know how much I can tell you. I’ve never met her, obviously.”

Tsaritsa coughs, and he doesn’t think much about it until it starts sounding a little violent. Pierro turns around holding two cups of coffee and sees her hunched over with her hand over her chest. But what almost makes him drop the cups is when he sees blood on her hand. He quickly puts them down.

“Hey,” he says, running over to her side. “Are you okay?” He puts a hand on her back. “Did you take your meds?”

“I’m fine,” she says calmly, reaching over to grab a tissue. She puts it to her mouth and straightens up. “...I’m fine.”

Pierro, one of the few who knows Tsaritsa has more than just a weak body, still looks worried. “Are you sure? Have you been taking your medication?”

Tsaritsa looks at him, a look that screams that he’s asking the wrong questions. “I said I'm fine, Pierro."

Pierro frowns. “I’ve noticed, you know. You’ve been coughing a lot more, and your fatigue is getting the best of you. I wouldn’t be surprised if the others are picking up that something is wrong.” He sighs. “Have you been seeing your doc—”

“Why do you think I’m here?” Her question takes him by surprise. “I know it’s getting worse.” She sighs to compose herself.  “But, you and I both know there is no cure.”

It was late at night, and Nanook was heading back to his room in the mansion when he saw the door of Tsaritsa's room ajar. As he got closer, he heard her cough. Once. Twice. And…

He stopped and peeked inside.

Tsaritsa was standing, hunched over her table. An old-looking open journal was off to the side. Nanook quietly opened the door, not wanting to startle her, but then he saw the blood on the table.

“You’re getting worse," he said. Before Tsaritsa could react, Nanook was already by her side. “It’s escalating.”

Tsaritsa's hand groped for the drawer as she took a breath. Finally, she got it open, and her hand shakily took out some pills. When she had trouble opening the bottle, Nanook helped her and watched her down two pills.

“...I’m fine.”

“Really?” Nanook asked, not convinced. He glanced at the blood. “This says otherwise.”

“What are you doing here?” She grabbed the journal and closed it. Nanook realized it was the journal from Pierro. “It’s late.”

“Well, I heard you coughing, and”—he looked at the blood—”do I need to say more?”

“It’s nothing,” she answered calmly. “I’m getting better.” Then, she put a hand on top of the journal. “You knew Pierro’s ancestor, didn’t you?”

Nanook slides a hand inside his pocket. “So, that old geezer mentioned me after all. Should’ve known.”

“This woman that you and Lan were so fond of…” Tsaritsa faced him. “Idrila. She was sick, and after she poisoned herself to end her suffering, both of you wanted to bring her back to life.”

“Why are you so curious?” Nanook asked skeptically. “I thought what you wanted from that journal was to learn more about that pretty boy so we can get rid of him.”

“And I did learn something,” she answered. “But, this is my first time hearing about another woman.”

Nanook scoffed. “You sound like an obsessive ex.”

Tsaritsa suddenly grabbed him by the throat, but Nanook didn’t flinch. “Let’s stop playing games, shall we? Regardless of your reasons for staying in the human realm, I kept you around because you promised me one thing… You could find a cure.”

“And I haven’t stopped looking.”

“The sickness that Idrila had… She began coughing blood in its early stages.”

Now, Pierro understands.

“You don’t…” he begins. “Are you saying you have the same illness as her? That’s ridiculous! If what the journal says is true, it wasn't normal.”

“Wouldn’t that explain my circumstances?” Tsaritsa asks bitterly. “You’ve been with me since the beginning, Pierro. You, out of all people, should know how many times I’ve been told ‘I’m sorry… I wish we can do more.’”

“But that doesn’t mean it’s magic.”

The silence drags on… and on… and on.

“It’s because of Lan and Nanook, is it not?” Pierro asks. “Because of who they are and what they did, it feels like anything and everything can be explained because of magic. I know you want an explanation. I would, too. But this isn’t healthy.” He sits next to her and puts an arm around her shoulders. “We’ll get through this together.”

Will they, really? Tsaritsa has her doubts. Still, she knows Pierro means well unlike the others she met in her life.

She never knew her birth parents. Those at the orphanage never told her much about them either. It was a rainy night when they found Tsaritsa wrapped in a blanket in a large basket at the entrance of the orphanage. So, her childhood memories were with the kids who accepted her despite her weak body. But that didn't make life any easier as she watched them leave for loving homes. Pierro was the first. Arlecchino was the second, and Columbina was the third.

“Oh, I wish we could adopt her, but you see, we’re looking for…”

Tsaritsa believed she heard it all. Every single excuse one could think of for not wanting her, and all of them were about her condition. So, when a family decided to adopt her, she was over the moon until she discovered the truth.

“Is she asleep?”

No, Tsaritsa wasn’t. She was upstairs with a perfect view of her adopted parents in the living room below. But, they couldn’t see her as it was dark, and she blended in with the darkness.

“Yes,” her mother answered.

Her father sighed. “We… should’ve waited. Don’t you think? If we found out sooner you were pregnant, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

“Oh, it’s a little harsh to call it a problem, right? We were told that I couldn’t get pregnant… So, this should be a great surprise. Besides, Tsaritsa is a good kid for her age.”

“But, I’m thinking about the future. Now that we’ll have a child, I would like them to take over our business.”

“And… What about Tsaritsa?”

“I… I don’t want to assume the worst,” her father said. “But, will she live long enough to see the day?”

And since then, before Dan Heng’s mother was even born, Tsaritsa already hated her. But not as much as she hated her adopted father.

“You say it can’t be magic,” Tsaritsa says. “But do I need to remind you that it still exists? Lan, Nanook, and Dan Feng’s existence is enough proof.” She turns to Pierro. “Idrila was born with a weak body, but her condition was purposely made worse.”

“That doesn’t explain how you could’ve gotten it,” Pierro says.

“Did you read until the end?” Tsaritsa asks. “Before she died… She had a child.”

Pierro’s face goes pale.

◆◆◆

Bailu arrives at one of the largest hospitals in the city. She has her hands on her hips as she stares in pride that the hospital she helped to get off the ground is still doing well.

Despite being born with a condition that stunted her physical growth, Bailu easily soared above her classmates in terms of knowledge and talent. She was only ten years old when she graduated from one of the most elite universities in the nation and after two years of work experience in the field, she entered medical school. Graduating early, she had many great job opportunities but chose a small clinic, Bubu Pharmacy, that was just starting to get off the ground. With only two employees, Bailu was attracted to the idea of building something big from scratch. And it wasn’t until she brought someone back to life that Bubu Pharmacy completely changed.

It was a slow and rainy day, and Bailu was enjoying her usual conversation with her co-workers, Herbalist Gui and Baizhu when someone entered. As soon as they heard the bell, they spun around, shocked to see a drenched woman carrying a bleeding, young girl on her back.

“Please…” the woman muttered. She would’ve fallen to the floor if Baizhu hadn’t caught her. “Please help my daughter.”

“Y-You need a hospital!” Herbalist Gui said, a little shaken.

“There’s no time for that,” Bailu said, examining the young girl. “She’s… She’s already dying.”

The woman grabbed Bailu’s arm. “Please… Please save her.”

Bailu remembers the day like it was yesterday. The woman and the young girl were victims of a hit-and-run, and they wouldn’t have survived. Yet, the young girl did, and while it was thanks to Bailu, she didn’t like to mention it… as she took the woman’s life to save her.

“Did it…” Herbalist Gui said quietly, his eyes wide. “Did it work?”

The young girl and the woman were lying next to each other on a large table. Bailu stood on one side while Baizhu stood on the opposite.

“Bailu,” Baizhu said, and she looked up at the young girl. “You’re shaking.”

Bailu looked at her gloved hand covered in blood. It was true.

Suddenly, a painful groan grabbed everyone’s attention. Bailu almost gasped as the young girl’s eyes fluttered open.

“Wh… Where am I?”

“Oh, my God…” Herbalist Gui muttered. “She’s… She’s alive!” He looked at Bailu. “You did it!”

Except, Bailu wasn’t sure what to feel.

The young girl, confused and disoriented, finally saw her mother next to her. “M-Mom…!” She held her hand, and Baizhu saw the moment her heart dropped to her stomach. “You’re… You’re so cold.” She looked at the worried faces around her. “Who are you? Why is my mother—”

“She’s gone.”

No one expected Bailu to be so direct. Not even herself.

“She’s gone…?” the young girl repeated, and her voice barely above a whisper. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

“She gave up her life… to save yours.”

“No… That’s…” She looked from Bailu to her lifeless mother. “That’s impossible. You can’t—”

“That’s what we thought,” Bailu interrupted. “But you… You’re living proof.”

“This is huge,” Baizhu said quietly. “I never thought this could be possible.”

“How?” the young girl asked, her fists clenched. “If what you said is true, how did you do it?”

Bailu never thought she’d say it, and it felt more surreal after she did.

“Magic.”

They soon learned that the girl was named Qiqi, and with no other relatives, Bailu, Baizhu, and Herbalist Gui took her in and treated her as one of their own. But it wasn't long before they realized that transferring her mother's life to hers had consequences. Qiqi had stopped ageing, and she was physically stuck as a child. This had grabbed the attention of the locals and the media, and soon, Bailu was being pulled in all sorts of directions to research this strange phenomenon.

But Bailu had made one thing clear: She didn't want to do it again. She knew that Qiqi and her mother were supposed to die that night, but she played with fate at the desperate request of Qiqi's mother and won with conflicting feelings. By now, only a few individuals had access to developmental research about magic. Bailu was one of them. But instead of researching more about taking someone's life to give to another, she followed her interests in immunity and immortality, hoping that no one would ever have to give their life to save another again.

Despite times changing, Bailu is happy that Bubu Pharmacy—now Bubu Hospital—still retained its traditional look and feel. Baizhu, Herbalist Gui, and Qiqi would be happy knowing that Bubu Hospital is alive and well. As Bailu takes the elevator to the uppermost floor, she walks down the quiet corridor, not wanting to reminisce about the past… again. She has done it far too many times, knowing it doesn’t make the pain of losing them any easier.

She also doesn't want to remind herself that losing them has made her a murderer.

“Tsaritsa? Is that her name?”

Bailu stops. Did she hear that correctly? She takes a few steps back and peeks into the room. A man with long blonde hair sits with one leg crossed over the other in a chair. But it’s the man standing that grabs Bailu’s attention.

It’s him. It’s Nanook.

“I have reason to believe she’s Idrila’s descendant,” he says. “And you… You were her doctor, were you not, Luocha?”

Luocha? Why does that name sound so familiar?

It was a slow day for Bubu Pharmacy, so Bailu spent it working on her research. Baizhu was in the room next to hers, and he hadn’t come out since she saw him walk in this morning. Curious about what he was up to, Bailu left the room, saw Herbalist Gui and Qiqi attending to a couple of customers, and then softly knocked on Baizhu’s door.

“It’s open.”

Bailu opened the door and peeked inside. “Whatcha workin’ on?”

“Oh, you know…” Baizhu sighed, his eyes still on some experimental equipment on his table. “I don’t know if you heard… but the princess of the nation developed a strange illness.”

“I’ve heard bits and pieces, but not entirely sure what it is she got.”

“It’s supposed to be confidential,” Baizhu said. “They don’t want to cause any unnecessary panic.”

“Figures,” Bailu muttered.

“But, as much as they want it to be confidential, we won’t get anywhere if we don’t share information.”

“She’s losing blood, isn’t she?”

“Rather than losing, it’d be more accurate to say something is draining her blood,” Baizhu said, and Bailu raised a brow. “They say it’s because of a spy from the neighbouring nation.”

Bailu wasn’t surprised that those in power would want to direct the blame to others, and what better scapegoat to use than their biggest enemy nation? As she never liked those in power, she never bothered with remembering names or faces. Leaders were all the same. Greedy. Power-hungry. Two-faced.

“Do they want you to use magic to cure her?” Bailu asked.

“Well… That’s the thing,” Baizhu said quietly. “There’s no magic that can. Not right now, at least. Perhaps it also has its limitations or more research needs to be done.”

“Huh… How interesting that not even magic can provide a solution.”

“They’re bringing in another doctor to see if he can provide some insight,” Baizhu said. “I’m meeting with him tomorrow.”

“Really? Who?”

“Someone named Luocha.”

“How long are you going to keep standing there?” Luocha’s green eyes meet hers through the crack in the door. “You’re welcome to come in.

The door suddenly slides open.

“Well, well, well,” Nanook says with a small grin. “Look who it is.”

Chapter 15

End notes:

And the mystery deepens...

I promise to make the timeline a little clearer lmao. But, for now, Bailu and Dan Feng would've been human in the same time period but Bailu "died" before the invasion happened. For some reason, this chapter was kinda difficult to write. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed learning more about Tsaritsa and Bailu. And damn this chapter was hard to name lol.

Tag list: @lunavixia @sunsethw4 @boomie-123 @aerithsthingss

[desultory-novice]

Hey Noir, your last name reminds me of a fictional character named Furina de Fontaine, ruler of a nation called Fontaine.

Just saying

:opens up laptop: :clicks link:

"...Huh. Another game."

"It's been kinda boring just waiting for results to come in." "Wonder if I can run this one...?"

...

...

...

...

"I need to get back to the tournament but Sigewinne's release is next month and I've almost got 10k primogems saved up...!!"

Noir!

Noir!

NOIR!!

...Now look what you've done.....

[Noir's Field Trip Masterpost]

A/N: Just assume this is what Noir's been doing while mun's been sick...

[gold-rhine]

wow i think you're the first one i've seen being critical and honest about 2.2 story quest bc ive seen people just... praise it for being so "deep" and "meaningful"

im super annoyed at the part where we fight together w/ firefly for some contest??? where argenti appears at the end. i dont even remember the name of the place bcs i was like- what was the reason for this????????????? its so out of nowhere and got me so annoyed cuz i want to advance to the story already

like sure there are twists that got me shocked like with misha being the watchmaker bcs i wasnt expecting that at all and the angel siblings too

also what's the purpose of flower box thingy handed out by sparkle from the beginning????? i hope it becomes relevant in the next story quest??? idk

oh my god it was so random asdfghjkl it's like if in star wars at the very end they were like hmm how do we infiltrate the death star?? oh i know, we go to the reality show contest held by the Emperor and then Vader is here at the end giving dramatic speech and telling Luke he's his father

like i get it that they want to include reality shows\contests parody for their america parody, but like. right at the ending??? absolutely murdering the pacing??? we spend like 40 minutes at this filler??? and then speedrun TWO cheesy endings in a row??? like why couldn't it been in prev patch. we couldn't cut an hour out of like 5 hours of aventurine content???

tbh misha twist didn't do much for me bc like, they didn't really give me reason to care about "watchmaker legacy"??? like it was a mystery with kind of no clear stakes from the start. like ok he's watchmaker, all we did is loot a harmony hat of his corpse????

with preservation MC they got preservation powers by PROTECTING belobog. like, it tracks why act of sacrifice to protect a planet would resonate with god of protection. but here??? what did we do to resonate with harmony??? we legit just picked up a hat???

i don't know, misha being watchmaker is like. ok, what does it change? what does it mean? we never really knew him. it doesn't say anything interesting, so? plot twists are only interesting to me when they recontextualize things.

sam being firefly is at least interesting, bc it gives her personality and we learn that transition couldn't save her and we had like, some relationship with her. but like. if anyone else was revealed to be watchmaker instead of misha, what would have changed?

edit: like, take fontaine plot twist that furina is a mortal and focalors is in oracle machine. this twist recontextualizes our existing understanding of furina, it explains her behavior, it makes us reevaluate our understanding of her. without this twist, entire ending falls apart, its integral for the plot.

with watchmaker, say gallagher was revealed to be watchmaker instead. what changes meaningfully? say we pick up harmony hat from the sidewalk and not from the corpse, what changes in the plot?

[tiredboogawwo]

Wayward!Au

(Ignore the mid art I was fighting to get all this out)

Idk I've been having some Neuvillette hyperfixations off and on and this is what my mind came up with, an au for our favorite dragon:

Basicallyyyy this all starts pre-job. He's new to this world, he knows how people look at him with hatred and distain but he tries to push past it and fit in. After an extremely horrible/hostile encounter he finds himself unable to feel safe in the city of fontaine, or anywhere humans are to be specific.

His hatred towards humans isn't one of disgust but fear, he's afraid they'll hate him or give him the same look those people back then did. This leads to him leaving his job/the city and eventually living in Merusea Village, with the only people he feels will accept him.

This obviously has some affects on fontaine, starting with:

Focalors plan. She needs to find the hydro dragon to determine the final verdict and fast. The guards are already on the lookout for him, for an unknown reason to them, at the archons request

Justice in Fontaine. Obviously the Oractrice is still giving out correct verdicts but shady happenings are occuring with their judges. Signs of bias and prejudice remain giving some citizens doubt in their system

Furina has less support and is more *extra* trying anything to find this mysterious hydro dragon to save her people

And that's just a few, but things soon change when one of the melusines needs someone to help escort her to a medical check up

//(Edit: it's nothing serious dw just a headache, she needs someone to come with her just in case it is serious, given everyone at the time was busy, her next best person was Neuvillette)

[emmebearpaw]

I've never shared it on the internet but I like to imagine that after the Fontaine archon quest, Furina starts going to therapy (because she should) and is eventually diagnosed with Autism as a side thing. She is in shock at this as the supposed diagnostic criteria because these are things that like, everyone she knows does? Like, no it's normal to eat a restricted or otherwise odd diet, both her and Monsieur Neuvillette had very particular requirements for their tea time snacks, not to mention the peculiarities of any of the melusine staff invited to join-- What communication deficits, surely if anyone were to struggle in "nonverbal communication" it would be Neuvillette and her former bodyguard Clorinde. They each had strange ways of expressing their emotions, and were generally less emotive than the average person she had met, making it much harder for her to look at them and process how the conversation was going to course correct and-- Anyways I want to watch Furina pen a letter to Neuvillette that just explains that A) She has been diagnosed with autism B) she's pretty sure Neuvillette is also autistic C) it took so long for her to realize this because both her, Neuvilletete and Clorinde are probably autistic and also Melusines aren't Autistic because they are not human but under human definition they are not neurotypical, so like 50+% of her daily interactions were with neurodivergent people + the whole masking to save Fontaine thing really didn't have her examining other's behaviors beyond "getting a good grade in archon. a thing that's reasonable to want and possible to achieve". I really want to see that. Maybe I'll write this fanfic this summer.

[akaiuchiha]

You know, when you can't find exactly what you are looking for while searching for fanfictions and you just go "Fine, I'll do it myself"?

Well, I do it, with my OC's AND fanfictions hahahaha.

Sometimes I crave for something that I cannot find, like, one day I was searching platonic fanfictions between Brook and Sanji and it is sooo hard to find some that are finished and not...well, not ship and all.

Now, it's the same for genshin. I have played the archon quest and Neuvillette's story quest, I loved both, really they were amazing.

I don't regret pulling for Neuvillette (and I got his weapon, lucky me) but now?? After everything? My brain just won't stop thinking about the next part (stop reading if you haven't done the archon quest, spoilers are coming) and of different "what if" that could happen in the next version. Like, what if Furina wasn't only one person, that she's not the real hydro archon after everything Arlecchino told us and, I know many like Furine but I don't, she's not even able to tell us what her emergency plans are in case of a catastrophe. Right now I have more faith in Arlecchino, Neuvillette, Wrio (I have still now idea on how to write it by myself), Lyney, Lynette, Freminet, Clorinde, EVERYONE BUT Furina. She can't take responsibility when things go South and it's driving me almosy crazy.

Anyway, I also think about everything that could happen to Neuvillette. Like, what if he's the only hope and he sacrifices himself in order to save everyone? What if Wrio do the same because this guy has more solutions than the archon herself and that's actuelly insane (he is building a SHIP to save people, he is holding the seal of the primordial sea, he is the one holding the front line in this mess and he does it alone most of the time).

And don't get me started with Childe. Hell, that man is not even in my top 5 but I'd do anything if it means saving him right now. I know when a character is a good one, and Childe certainly is. What the hell is he doing in the primordial sea?! What was that giant thing he saw? To me it looked like a dragon, its shape was similar to Dvalin's if I remember well. And I don't care, I'm not lettong Childe die. He's not even guilty for what he was accused! Sure, he is a criminal and clearly not the kindest person here, but will he ever kidnapp people, hurt children?? That man straight up lied to his little brother in order to protect his innocence and the image he has of his big brother, I can't believe he would do that.

I can't even tell you how clearly I can see the pictures of what I've been thinking about since I finished the archon quest. It's so vivid, and I see Neuvillette standing up, tall and proud in front of a massive wave, taller, wider and stronger than the one in the forteress. He cannot do it alone with his actual power and then, Clorinde, Wrio, people who can fight join him and face the wave and that's just... Maybe I was influenced by Dressrosa Arc by a lot because everyone working, fighting together is just so wholesome and powerfull that I need to see it happen in genshin.

Well, than you for reading all of this. Don't hesitate to share with me what you've been thinking about the quest!

[storysprite]

Ei’s Apocrypha - A Shogun’s Story in Stills: Inazuma

For a while now I always include a short character story to go with my Genshin fanart. This one will be my first installation of “Ei's Apocrypha”. I technically have other Ei stories that fall under this theme but I hadn't thought of the series at the time. The point will be to draw images/snapshots of her life, with stories that you could imagine happened in her past. Some of them will be a lot sillier and just for fun/AU like Ei and Furina on a girl's night out in Fontaine. Or in highschool with the other Archons. But for the most part they'll explore a past that Hoyo haven't really gone into much detail yet.

The story for this piece is below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ei's Apocrypha - A Shogun's Story in Stills: Inazuma.

The records of the tales of the life of She who is Voice of Thunder and form of Lightning. House of Yae Revised Edition.

Editor's notes: Some parts of the ancient records could not be recovered so the text will show gaps that are incomplete. Requests have been sent to Tenshukaku for clarification. However, the Shogunate has decided not to provide commentary, in order to preserve the spirit of myth that is due and proper to divinity. As well as not give a settled answer on articles of devotion and tradition that have developed over time, which different sects of the Faithful hold in contradiction to one another yet with equal conviction and reverence.

(Part 1 of 8)

Even in the early days of her awakening, the Lady of the Sakura Woods was devoted to an art form that consumed much of her time. A pastime that reflected the nature of one born of both serenity and chaos. A paradox that embodied her soul. Perhaps that's why she was born as a {...}air.

She took to the sword for its discipline and singular focus. The mind and body are united in one goal: to strive for strong physical prowess and mental agility. Everything united. Later on, it was understood that what becomes one and indivisible cannot be taken apart and cannot be destroyed.

Ironic, then, forgoing the body to save the mind, she sacrificed not just her relationships but a true part of herself.

A true warrior's battle isn't first with their opponent, but with their own limitations. This art was a way to do so. Love of the art, not death.

When they were first awakened, the moment lightning conjured under moonlight struck its own reflection in the water, the light and the light of light were born. The irony is that the light of light would bear the name of {....}adow.

And yet, in herself, she was full of light and life. So why did the Heavens call her to fight, not to protect what she loved, but for Authority?

These thoughts weighed heavily on her mind. Especially today, as she wiped blood born of fire from her blade.

"She's here! I know it," said a little girl with pink hair, leading her friend deep into the woods at night. "If we're quiet we might even catch her singing."

"Akari, is my family even allowed to be here?" asked her frightened friend.

"Anyone who is looking for a safe place and wants to live in peace is welcome here."

"But is it safe?" asked the friend. "I've never seen a forest like this before. It seems like a strange place. Who knows what monsters are hiding here."

"Not anymore! All the danger has been chased away!" said Akari. "It's night, but the forest feels bright. We're alone, but haven't you felt like we're being watched over in a good way?"

(Part 2 of 8)

Her friend hesitated for a moment and looked around.

"I suppose," she said, letting out a sigh of relief. "But why?"

"It was the Lady of the Lightning. The Woman of the Woods," cheered Akari. "She chased all the monsters out and left sparking leaves and flowers all around to warn them not to come back."

Her friend got worried again. "What if she chases me and my family away?"

"Never! She's nice," said Akari. "When those bad men on the black horses came to our village, I ran here. They tried to catch me, but the Lady scared them away and played music for me to make me feel better when she came back like my momma used to."

The girls wandered around the forest a little more, chatting and laughing, till eventually they stumbled upon a lake that looked like it had a life of its own.

Standing in the midst of the water was a woman with long violet hair, with such an air about her that she seemed like an illusion of moonlight wiping red stains from her sword and lilac dress.

The water glimmered with an enchanted glow and rang with a low, sweet sound, as though its ripples were soft notes echoing through the night. Each droplet that wiped on her blade and robes would take away their red stains and instantly remove them without polluting the lake.

Once the woman's gown was entirely clean and her sword shone again like the evening star, she turned her head every so slightly towards the sound of a pair of little feet not too far away.

The girls knew they had been spotted. For it seemed like the light of the Lady's golden horns, like that Oni, be they real or enchanted ornaments, sought them out from the bushes where they hid.

"I think I remember saying something about children needing to sleep on time," said the Lady.

"But I don't feel tired anymore when I come to this part of the forest," said Akari.

"Hmm... Maybe I made this place too comfortable then," noted the Lady. For the forest, and this spot in particular were no ordinary place. But had long become an extension of her inner world, sealed off from the mortal lands around it.

A safe haven for her and her newly awakened {....} to preserve all the good things they discovered.

"Eventually, we'll keep adding to this place and make it a nice home for the people to come and rest," the Lady's {.....} suggested one day. A sentiment they both shared.

(Part 3 of 8)

But the Lady had a concern not shared by her {....}. "Will it remain a nice home if the people come with all their problems?"

This was a thought that bothered her for quite some time.

Until one day, when the Lady was taking a walk along the periphery of the forest, she heard the desperate cry of a child. It belonged to Akari who was terrified of some riders on dark horses. They bore banners in honour of "The Lord of the Invincible Flame," and by their bright torches lit during the day, it looked like they were about to make Akari their sacrifice.

So the Lady made the forest appear again on the mortal plane and, in so doing, became visible to Akari and her pursuers.

"Leave her be," she said to the now terrified men. They looked like they wanted to flee, but another fear kept them planted in place.

"We... we can't leave without her," said the men. "Our Lord demands His sacrifice."

"And who is this Lord?"

The men looked at each other. It was clear that they were wondering whether or not they had a chance against this strange horned woman who stood before them.

At once, they yelled in a strange tongue and threw orbs that lit up with smokeless fire in hopes of burning the girl.

But before the fires could reach Akari, the Lady stood between her and the flames. Fanning them away with one swipe of the katana that materialised in her hand.

The Lady moved so quickly that it startled the horses which threw their owners off at the terrifying sight of her glowing violet gaze. The horses ran as though commanded, leaving their rider's behind.

"You- you can't do this," cried the leader of the men. "If our Lord doesn't have this child, then our families will perish."

The Lady raised her blade till it was but a hair's breadth from grazing the man's face.

"I won't ask you again. Who is your Lord, and why does he want this sacrifice?" Her blade began to spark with the violet light of Electro, just enough to tickle the tip of the man's nose. But he knew in his heart that if a good answer was not forthcoming, that this power would do a lot more than that.

"The... the... Edict of the Heavens," said the terrified man. "The Gods of the land are to carve out their own space to reign and bring order as they see fit. That the powers of the world may be at rest. But as each ruling God grows in power, so too does their influence and reign until it encroaches on the domain of another God. Then the weaker of the two will have to submit to the power of the greater. Or both can share the authority, but in doing so become all but utterly vulnerable to one another.

(Part 4 of 8)

"Few Gods choose submission. Fewer still choose to open themselves up in such a way. So the only option left is either to flee or to fight. Our Lord of Flames grows strong from the fires of war and by consuming the flesh of those touched with the gift of fire. Particularly of humans blessed with this affinity.

"This girl has been greatly blessed with this power. Far exceeding that of any mortal we've ever known. And so, her sacrifice would greatly increase the power of our Lord. In exchange, he's promised to spare us and our families and greatly bless this girl's sister with the power of great smokeless fire, for her sister is the one who brought this Lord's attention to our village and sold out her own flesh and blood for this exchange."

Hearing these things evoked in the Lady feelings that she had never experienced before. Righteous indignation against this Lord of the Flames and the sister who would sell out their own flesh and blood for power.

And also great pity for the girl and her troubles.

But surprisingly, there was pity too for the men who, in a desire to save the lives of their families, were brought to such desperate acts.

"Where is this Lord of yours?" asked the woman.

"He dwells in the crooked tower, far to the west of here. But it's in our village that his Emmissary, this girl's sister, is holding our families hostage till we were able to find and retrieve this girl."

The Lady turned around to the little girl and knelt by her, reaching out to still her trembling form.

"Don't be afraid," she said. "No harm will come to you. Till I return, you can stay in my forest, where no danger can enter and the trees will care for your needs. I will go deal with your sister and then her Lord."

The little girl didn't know why, but she trusted these kind words that brought her tears of relief.

She also felt as though the branch of the Sakura tree behind her had come to life and was beckoning her to hurry into the forest. And so she did, after bowing, giving her deepest thanks to the kind stranger.

The Lady then turned to the men and said: "I extend this same protection to you and your families. But if you mistake that kindness for weakness, there will be no mercy found for you."

Then the leader of the men spoke. "But what can you do against our Lord? Even his Emissary commands the very power of the storms like a God. No mortal or minor spirit can stand against her."

"Bring me to her," said the Lady. The men were in shock, for she didn't hesitate for even a moment.

(Part 5 of 8)

"Did you not hear? The Emmissary-"

"Bring me. To her," repeated Lady. The men knew that it would not fair well for them if she had to speak thrice.

And so they agreed to take her back to their village.

For three hours, they walked with fear and trembling, not knowing what would take place. In their hearts, they said that perhaps this woman would be an acceptable sacrifice instead of the girl, and their families could be saved.

Then finally, when the men reached their village, they broke down and began to weep. For their families were tied to stakes. From the young children and babes to the elderly. Each was doused in oil and pinned to wood that was ready to burn.

The children cried as the elders in their family tried to reassure them. The villagers who witnessed these horrors about to take place stood silently and watched helplessly, terrified of the pink-haired woman in a long red cloak that stood in their midst and mocked the crying kids and their families.

"To think," she said. "That I grew up amongst all of you in the dirt that you call home. But now I'll crush you beneath my feet, but a mere step on the ladder of my greatness."

An aura of Electro energy radiated around her. And had one not known better, they could easily have mistaken her for a God.

Upon hearing the wailing men return, she spun around to mock them but stopped to glare at the stranger they brought back with them:

(Part 6 of 8)

An eerily beautiful violet-haired woman in an elegant robe with a Katana in one hand. Clearly enchanted with Electro. But not just enchanted, from where the woman stood, it felt as though that sword in the stranger's hand was birthed by lightning itself.

Who was this strange woman the men brought back with them? Perhaps she was a local witch or the daughter of a wealthy lord who was harbouring the sacrifice? Either way, the Emmissary did not look pleased and the violet aura around her flashed for a moment with envy's viridescence.

"Oh?" said the Emmissary. "Instead of finding that rat of a sister, you went to seek aid from... what is this thing? Some nobleman's daughter, perhaps by the looks of it. She had a few lessons from a samurai and now thinks she can take on the world? Or are you hoping she dies and that some petty lord will fight for you to avenge their daughter? Have you forgotten the power of My Lord?"

She stepped forward, and the ground beneath her feet trembled, bursting with violet light, bringing the villagers to their knees as though in worship. "Have you forgotten my power?" she added.

The men pleaded with the Emmissary to spare their families, even offering themselves in their place. But the Emmissary laughed. Laughed so hard and so high that it hurt their ears and bruised their hearts.

And on that day, for the first time since her awakening, the Lady of the Sakura Woods came face to face with true, undiluted depravity.

"You're the one selling off her sister for power?" she asked the Emmissary.

"And what of it?"

"You're not worthy of the title of sister," said the Lady of the Woods.

"Oh? And what will you do about it?" jeered the Emmissary.

(Part 7 of 8)

The Lady of the Woods drew her sword. "We'll have a duel to decide."

The Emmissary laughed. "A duel to the death won't go well for you!"

"To the death? I was happy merely to strip you of your power when you lost," said the Lady. "You don't need to lose your life."

Fury flashed across the Emmissary's face.

"You dare act like you have any power over me? Pathetic. You're nothing but a well dressed rat! In fact, I'll even let you take the first strike... if you can."

As she finished, a deep red violet aura surrounded her. The ground began to shake. And the skies above began to darken.

"Go on, you fool," dared the Emmissary.

"Just try it. But after your first attempt, I'll not show you any mercy. I will make you cry and beg to end your miserable life. But you will suffer to the bitter end and watch as I burn each and every one of these vermin alive. But it will pale in comparison to what's in store for you and my-"

Horror struck the Emmissary's heart. Before she could even finish speaking, quicker than she could blink, the Lady had gone and was now standing right behind her. Having moved through the barrier of the Emmissary's aura without detection or breaking it.

"Unlike you," said the Lady. "I am not a monster and have at least made sure that your death was quick and painless. Far more than you deserve."

The Emmissary looked around and couldn't believe her eyes. She was standing in place, yet at the same time she could see what looked like her body cut in half and lying at her feet. This body she was looking at seemed more solid than the transparent form she had now. And staring into her own face, she saw a pair of pink eyes looking back at her with a vacant stare.

"No...no... impossible... I can't be... I... I can't," the Emmissary whimpered. Then, as she began to cry, a strong and strange melodic wind came, wrapping itself around her, moving her presence away from her body till both the sight of her form and the sound of her wailing had utterly faded from world.

At first, the villagers were afraid, but seeing the stranger being gentle with them, reassured their hearts that she meant them no harm.

(Part 8 of 8)

"'Come, all of you, and rest in my woods, where you'll be safe from mortal peril and from the wrath of the Lord Fire who dwells in the West," she told them. The villagers soon gathered their things and were astonished at the enchanted forest that appeared before them. Even more astonished to find that the Electro energy that was used to torment them, was now a source of life, beauty and comfort.

After a few months, they fully settled in well and began to call their new home" Inazuma no Mori"; Lightning Forest.

Despite having led the people there, the Lady of the Woods seldom went to them in person. Instead, she left the day-to-day handling of their affairs and meeting with the people to her tw{... ...}ster, whom they would all continue to mistake for the Lady that saved them.

All of them except for one.

Akari approached the Lady of the Woods as she meditated in a quiet place, something that should not have been possible at this time. The Lady opened an eye, and seeing the girl approaching, she could only imagine that a mischievous kitsune that had gotten close to the Akari decided to share with her some of the deeper mysteries of the forest.

"I knew it," said Akari. "I knew there were two of you. I could just tell that you're different."

"Hmmm," said the Lady. "My {.....} is the nice and approachable one. She's better at dealing with the people."

"I think you're nice too. You just show it different," said Akari. "But maybe you can try show it some more, okay?"

Then the Lady of the Woods did something that she rarely did with anyone but her {....}. She smiled.

"Of course," she said. "I'll try."

Akari hugged the Lady of the Woods before scurrying off. An act that even surprised the Lady herself.

"Having a mortal body has its drawbacks and it can't last forever," her {.....} once said. "But it lets you experience a lot of little things that makes it worth having."

Perhaps this hugs was one such experience? The Lady thought to herself.

Either way, she would fight to protect the Forest of Inazuma and make sure it was a world where Akari, and many Akari's after her would always feel safe and happy enough to share hugs.

Despite wanting to treat her sword techniques like an art to improve her use of this new body in a way she finds enjoyable, the Lady would also raise her sword to answer the mysterious Edicts of the Heavens. To grow her power not by wicked means but by protecting those under her care. To keep them safe so they could fulfil their ambitions, dreams, and desires. To fight against any creature, mortal or divine, that would threaten the peace of Inazuma Forest. Even if it meant one day, when she was strong enough, having to stand against the Heavens themselves.

That Inazuma and its people may stand against the erosion impressed upon this world. To remain and flourish in it for all of time and eternity…